Trailer: Don Calame's Beat The Band

Beat The Band is the sequel to last years hilarious debut offering from Don, Swim The Fly. Coop, Sean and Matt are back for another adventure! Official synopsis below, and check out the trailer that's just been released for it!

"Who gets more girls than a rock god? No one.' In the hotly-awaited sequel to the hysterical Swim the Fly, Coop finds himself partnered with social outcast 'Hot Dog' Helen for a class project on safe sex. Desperate to find a way of saving his rep, Coop decides that winning the school Battle of the Bands contest is the perfect solution. Surely the small fact that neither he nor his best friends, Sean and Matt, can actually play an instrument will stop them achieving rock-and-roll awesomeness."

Can't wait! It's out 1st February

Review Round-Up: Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick, Swim The Fly by Don Calame and Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Okay... so I mentioned that I will be doing some posts like this where I review several books in one post... so here goes:

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Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

The second book in Fitzpatrick's phenomenally successful Hush, Hush saga, this book see's Patch and Nora go through another roller-coaster of emotion, love, hate, heartache and drama. 

I enjoyed this book even more than I did Hush, Hush and I have to admit I didn't think I would. From the beginning, this book felt darker and more brooding and reached a stunning climax. One can only begin to wonder what Becca has in store for us all in Silence which is out in a few short weeks... ARGH! I cannot wait. Becca's writing is so beautiful and endearing. It pulls me in every time I happen to catch a glimpse. 

5/5.

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This book made me snigger, snort, laugh and even cry when I read it towards the start of Summer. A gang of teenage mates who are all trying to reach a goal by the end of the Summer holidays... to see a real life girl... actually naked. It made me laugh and reminded me of when I was at school and how I was with my mates. A nostalgic read that will have you in fits of laughter!!

4/5.

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This dystopian beauty is not for the faint hearted and is easily one of my top reads this year. Coming in at nearly 600 pages, the book is quite literally a brick. But do not be put off by its size. Because on the inside it's a real corker.

Written with brilliant skill, and in a weird yet entrancing way (you have to read it to see what I man by that...) you cannot help but be hooked, drawn in the world of Blood Red Road and get caught up in a dangerous and deadly adventure. The design inside is so cool too! With some loveable characters who you come to really care for by the end of the book, and an impending sense of danger and innocence, this book is perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner. A film is in production so it's definitely one to watch out for. Why not read the book first? We all know the books are better!

5/5.

Giveaway: Signed Copy of Swim The Fly!

If you guys cast your minds back to the end of last week, Saturday I believed, the charming Mr. Don Calame stopped by for a little Q&A as part of his blog tour to celebrate the UK release of his book, Swim The Fly. Well, as part of his visit I was offered a signed, yes *SIGNED*, to giveaway. Well I forgot to add it in to the post, so here it is now. Haha. Better late than never!

Sadly, it is only open to UK residents, but all you have to do is fill the form out below. Easy as that. The comp closes on Sunday 25th June. I'll then let Randomizer.org do it's work and the said signed copy will be wizzing it's way over to the winner!

Q&A With Don Calame - Part of the Swim The Fly Blog Tour

Hi Don! First of all welcome to Empire of Books and thanks so much stopping by! Swim the Fly encapsulates Summer for me, and when I read it I was instantly transported back to my own School Summer holidays (not that long ago… but still), how did you feel writing it and did it have you reminiscing at all?

I had an absolute blast writing it. The story brought me right back to being fifteen years old and being on swim team. It had me reminiscing about those long summer days where me and my friends would hang out and get into all sorts of mischief. 

What were you like at Matt, Coop and Sean’ age? Do we get any glimpse of your younger self in the book?

I think I was very much like these boys. Mostly, I was probably like Matt. All those emotions and feelings of awkwardness. Knowing that I liked girls and wanted a girlfriend but having absolutely no clue how to go about talking and interacting with girls on a romantic level.

Is there any particular scene that you had the most fun writing, or perhaps one you want people to know about more than any other?

So many of the scenes were fun to write about. I think the scene in the girls locker room was particularly fun for me to write, though I don’t want to give away too much for those who haven’t read it. I think I really enjoyed just getting my characters into all sorts of trouble and then trying to figure out how to get them out of it. 

What is the most daring thing you have ever tried to do during one Summer? And did you succeed?

That’s a tough one. I don’t know that there was ever anything particularly daring that I did. My friends and I would do fairly risky bicycle and skateboard stunts, like creating ramps and trying to jump over lined-up garbage cans (which I do not recommend, by the way). We’d also leap off our roofs with open umbrellas in hopes that they’d act as parachutes (they didn’t). I wouldn’t say these were so much daring as not terribly well thought out.

Swim The Fly Blog Tour

Earlier this month I got an email from the lovely Leonora at Templar about this book... Swim The Fly by Don Calame! It's out next month and to celebrate there's going to be a blog tour and EoB is the penultimate stop! Yay!!!

Fifteen-year-old Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Coop and Sean, always set themselves a summertime goal. This year? To see a real-live naked girl for the first time. But this impossible mission starts to look easy in comparison to Matt's other challenge: to swim the 100 yard butterfly (the hardest stroke known to man) and impress the gorgeous Kelly West.

There's going to be a Q&A right here on 4th June, with a chance to bag yourself a signed copy too!! How exciting is that?!

Check out the flyer for the tour below, to check out where else the tour will be stopping off, and be back here on 4th June so you don't miss out on the fun!!